State of video: Is the end near for linear TV?

It is not looking good for liner TV. According to the latest report by GroupM, there are no new signs of life in linear television as ratings continue to fall. Moreover, no new ad formats have emerged to suggest a transformation for the better.“The solace for those selling linear television lies with sustained advertiser demand even as audience supply has fallen; inflating unit costs are the silver lining of audience scarcity.  The ranks of television advertisers are swelling with new entrants, mostly direct-to-consumer businesses that have exhausted all the reach and awareness “performance” media afford them,” said the report by Group M titled ‘State of Video’.Among a series of GroupM reports on the future of advertising, the new publication is co-authored by GroupM’s Futures Director, Adam Smith, and senior advisor, Rob Norman.“[The liner TV industry] is reminiscent of the dot-com boom for television in the late 1990s; maybe it will end better this time,” said Norman. “One thing is for sure: linear television is still perceived to be as effective as ever, despite the absence of granular measurement.”  Here are 3 areas which have been highlighted:Measurement even more importantMeasurement has always been essential to accountability, planning and optimisation and in the more fragmented world, it’s even more so. Data is used in planning and buying, but is most prevalent in the former. The industry must solve for a measurement solution enabling better understanding of viewing patterns across all screens and channels. This is still a couple of years away even in the most advanced markets.Addressable televisionAddressable TV is on the rise but far from ubiquitous. However, 2018’s megamergers may catalyse change. Several company combinations enable vertical integration between content and distribution, creating significant scale with homes served and content viewed. Should these merged companies succeed in making their owned inventory fully addressable on their platforms, it will help realize the long-promised future where TV is a more efficient, targeted and digital-like medium.Digital forcesAmazon, Facebook, Netflix and YouTube remain the top challengers to TV’s incumbent media owners. Among ad-supported players, YouTube leads with a staggering number of non-traditional premium content producers. YouTube’s scaled audiences have been embraced, to varying degrees, by major advertisers. Facebook and Amazon have become competitive acquirers of sports rights in tentative but telling steps this year. While the success of the newly launched Facebook Watch is unclear, Facebook’s future in video should not be underestimated.